“Weave of many factors and later a domino effect.” What was the cause of Blackout in Spain?

The weave of many factors that could be controlled individually, but they happened at one time, and then the domino effect – such causes of Blackout, which on Monday paralyzed Spain and Portugal, pointed out in an interview with PAP dr hab. Eng. Henryk Kocot from the Silesian University of Technology.

The failure took place on Monday around noon. The break in electricity supplies paralyzed street traffic, grounded planes, stopped the railway, trapped many people in the elevators and metro wagons. Hospitals worked in an emergency mode. On Tuesday, the supply of electricity was stabilized, but the effects of the failure are still felt. The reason is still unknown, Portuguese services stated that this was not the result of a hacker attack.

“On the basis of knowledge available now, in my opinion, the cause of the failure was a weave of some factors that are individually less important and would be controlled, and which in this case were imposed on each other. For now, however, these are only speculation,” he told PAP dr hab. Eng. Henryk Kocot, prof. Silesian University of Technology.

The expert added that the operators of the country's system system are guarding the security of the power network on a daily basis. “Those in Spain certainly do this too, but here we were dealing with the aforementioned domino effect. Automation is a certain system of connected vessels. If for some reason one element of the system is turned off, these loads take over other elements, which then begin to work on the border of their abilities. When they overload, the problem goes on and further, and the process begins to drive,” he pointed out.

The scientist asked if hypothetically about such a scale could be caused by weather factors, e.g. with a sudden increase in temperature, he confirmed this, although with some reservations.

“A sudden increase in temperature can be the reason for Blackout, because at a higher temperature the transmission capacity of the network is smaller, the production capacity of thermal power plants is also reduced, and on the other hand more air conditioning or refrigeration devices are turned on. But thermal processes have a long so -called time constant, they are not violent, and in addition, the system operators monitor forecast and are prepared for different situations. I would involve failures with the weather – but I do not know what the weather conditions prevailed yesterday in this area, “he said.

Kocot estimated that the causes of the failure would only be known in some time. “These are long and extensive analyzes of recorders of events in the system and work on models, when you try to restore the situation that took place,” said the scientist from the Department of Electrical Electricity and control of systems at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the Silesian University of Technology.

The expert also emphasized that the return to the starting situation after the Blackout of this range does not happen on the basis of a light switch.

“If the failure has an average range, e.g. one station turns off during a storm, then the city – or some fragment – loses its power. In this case, the whole system works, only we have a local switching off. After improving the weather and possible repairs, the voltage and eclectic energy can be attached back again. The fragment after the fragment, and then connecting it together.

The expert also reminded that in Europe there is one common system in which everyone works on everyone, although it depends on the location and size of a given country. “If such a problem as yesterday took place, e.g. in Germany, we would probably feel it very much,” he said.

He added that in the case of such failures the first step of the neighboring country is an attempt to cut off from dangerous regions, “but then you have to be well balanced inside your own country.”

Agnieszka Klics-Pudlik (PAP)

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